Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7
इत्थं तस्य गुणग्रामान्विकथ्य बहुशः खगाः । नाद्यापि वृण्वते राज्ये कमपि स्वैरचारिणः
itthaṃ tasya guṇagrāmānvikathya bahuśaḥ khagāḥ | nādyāpi vṛṇvate rājye kamapi svairacāriṇaḥ
Ainsi, après avoir maintes fois célébré l’amas de ses qualités, les oiseaux proclamèrent que, jusqu’à ce jour, ils ne choisissent pour roi nul être qui n’agisse qu’au gré de son seul caprice.
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)
Scene: A council-like gathering of birds in a forested royal domain, repeatedly recounting a former king’s virtues, refusing to accept a capricious ruler; the mood is sober and didactic.
FAQs
Authority should be grounded in dharma and virtue, not in self-willed, arbitrary conduct.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī/Varanasi) narrative frame, though this particular line emphasizes dharmic governance rather than a named tīrtha.
None; the verse is ethical instruction (rāja-dharma) rather than a vrata, dāna, or snāna rule.